Kentucky Wesleyan welcomes new wrestling program

Wrestling will join the sports roster at Kentucky Wesleyan College starting in the 2018-19 academic year, the NCAA Division II school announced this week.

Wrestling is the third men's intercollegiate sport to be added for next season at KWC, joining bowling (which was added earlier this summer) along with the reinstatement of men's tennis also revealed this week.

"We are excited to add wrestling to our athletic department here at Kentucky Wesleyan," said Director of Athletics Rob Mallory. "The high school wrestling community, both nationally and regionally, is tremendously underserved with regard to participation opportunities at the collegiate level. There is a specific void of NCAA, scholarship-granting programs in our region. When combined with the outstanding tradition of high school wrestling in Western Kentucky and neighboring states, we feel strongly that our wrestling program can bolster the growth and success of Panther athletics."

Kentucky Wesleyan will become the sixth school in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference to offer intercollegiate wrestling, joining Alderson Broaddus, Findlay, Ohio Valley, Lake Erie, and Tiffin.

KWC joins the growing list of schools offering NCAA Division II wrestling, becoming the 61st school in the nation to add a D2 wrestling program (just weeks after Ohio's Urbana University became the 60th college with Division II wrestling)… and only the second in Kentucky to have D2 wrestling, joining Bellarmine University in Louisville, whose program first took to the mats last fall.

A nationwide search for a head coach for Kentucky Wesleyan's new wrestling program will begin immediately.

Founded in 1858, Kentucky Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts college located in Owensboro in western Kentucky, between Louisville and Evansville, Indiana. KWC has an enrollment of approximately 800 students. The new Panther wrestling program - along with all other varsity sports -- compete in NCAA Division II.